Pumping life, the teenagers in this novel jump off the page. From the intelligent but physically abused Gray Morrow, to his heroic but temperamental older brother, Gordon, and his tragic relationship with the city-wise but sexually abused Dusty Jones, this is a world many of us fail to recognise as very much our own. Often dark and sometimes cold, bloody and brutal, it is also filled with pathos, love and humanity.

Moving between the fringe town of Ipswich and affluent Brisbane, we also find people of the 'normal' world: Ruth Hannah, the shelter supervisor who offers comfort and support to the kids, but who has her own past to contend with, and the Juvenile Aid Bureau's Senior Detective Constable Watno Thornes who tries to befriend the kids but lives with a dark agenda in the back of his head...

Levy's novel immerses us in this world. Once in, we see that the way out is no simple journey.